Okay, so I know the previous post I said I was taking a break, buuuuuut here I am. Although I have been on maternity leave since Christmas, It has only really been in the last week I have had the chance to potter and enjoy the last days before babe, yes single digits now, well, until the due date anyway, so really, who knows! We have been getting the babes room ready, and feel grateful to have the time and space to actually get it done, amongst the more pressing renovations, ! And while I wont be sharing the whole space just yet, I wanted to share my latest project, mostly because of the response I got when I posted about it on my Instagram story.

So, change tables, I debated for a while of even having one, but realised I would at least need somewhere to store little clothes etc. So started my search for a versatile, non baby looking change table, that would grow and change with the babe and her needs. And with no luck, I decided it was time to do a little DIY. I scoured Trade Me, and found that blue and lime green ( sheesh ) little number locally. It was the perfect size, simple style, and of course the right price, coming in at a grand total of $80.00. I then went about choosing my paint colour and landed on ReseneClay Creek, a muted and muddied green which I paired with my ReseneRascal floors ( *Quick Tip, when painting floors use Resene Sureseal as a pre paint sealer, stops wood stains and pigments coming through – although get someone else to apply it if you are pregnant, as that stuff is oil based and potent!)

Next up I had to work out how I wanted to use it as a change table. Seeing as I wanted it to change with our soon to arrive child, I wanted something that was easily adaptable and not just have a single use. I decided on a low basket from Citta, my thoughts being this will make a great little toy or blanket storage in the future, then used a natural latex pillow with a pillow protector and Dehei jersey cotton pillow case that I nabbed from our shop. Last but not least I popped an IKEA organiser in, for those bits and pieces.

And done! A movable changing basket and adaptable piece of furniture, tick, tick tick. Now we just need the babe!

Its almost bitter sweet writing this post, but it’s pretty fun to see all the before photos to see how far we came!

As a few of you may know, the old ( ish ) girl was bought down from the mighty Waikato in the summer of 2014, in various types of disrepair, and in two pieces. We then began to fix her from the bottom up! Above are a few snaps of what she looked like before, not so pretty.

But here is what she looks like today!

The exterior was painted in Resene Foundry, and landings in Resene Woodsman Cedar Stain

The Master bedroom was painted in Resene Black White

The bathroom was painted in Resene Black White, with Resene Smoky Green on the floors

The Laundry was painted in Resene Atomic, with Resene Smoky Green on the floors

The Hallway was painted in Resene Double Alabaster, while the Spare Room and Office was painted in Resene Black White, with Office floor in Resene White Gloss .

The lounge and Dining where painted in Resene Black White, with Office floor in Resene White Gloss .

The kitchen was painted in Resene Double Alabaster.

The fire pit fence was painted in Resene Blue Bark with Resene Woodsman Cedar Stain on the built in seating.

And as many of you know we have now sold, and moved into a new project ( at the same time as another pretty big project ) But before leaving we were lucky enough to have our main gal Heather Liddell fully document our first home and renovation for the latest issue of Homestyle magazine. I then got all nostalgic ( read pregnancy hormonal ) and wanted to share a few of our favourite snaps.

Although you may have seen snippets of the progress in Homestyle over the last year, if you are after more information on what we did, how we did it, and more detail on the Resene paint colours we chose ( beware, there is A LOT of black white ) you can check out my previous posts. And if you want to read the full story pick up a copy of Homestyle, or head over here!

Good golly, she was a little rough when we saw her. And not much better after the move. The bath tub was stained and had sunken in the move south, in fact it was held together with duct tape for the first 4 months of living there. The walls pale blue were stained with years of mould, not quite the sanctuary that a bathroom should and with a square meterage of only 3m, we were now not only wrestling with budget but also with space. However, we aren’t one to shy away from a challenge.

Gutting the bathroom but keeping the plumbing in the same place was the key. We quickly disposed of the old enamel bath with it’s years of yellow stain and replacing it with a near new bath off TradeMe. Creating space without knocking down walls was a priority, so to maximise space we took off the existing inward opening door, replacing it with an old T&G door hung on industrial castors we found at the local wreckers. Choosing a recessed mirrored cabinet creates a sense of space and light and allows for added storage with out loosing precious elbowroom. Adding baskets under the vanity keep bits in bobs in place while looking sharp.

Deciding to make our own vanity to replace the previous eye sore was a relatively easy and cheaper option. After constructing the console out of plywood, we painted the face with Resene Double Alabaster and sealed it with Resene Graffiti Shield. Bringing back the DIY leather pulls, adding an off set ceramic basin and new tape ware we were done for under $300.00 . Once again following my hard and fast rule of fresh and clean we gibed and painted the walls in Resene Black White dressing up the floor in a dusty green, Resene Smokey Green. We also chose to tile, and went with a cost effective square tile adding texture with a charcoal grout, leaving us with a crisp new space at steal. Although it is not a task to be taken lightly, tiling yourself is achieve-able . Make sure you measure and then measure again, it’s all about that straight line. Playing around with grout can transform mundane into mod. TIP : The smaller your tile you use, the trickier the process. Using larger tiles leaves less room for errors.

The laundry on the other hand wasn’t in extreme disrepair, just a little tired and in serious need of extra storage.

For most people the laundry is a dull and uneventful place not worth much musing, but I like a good laundry l. It needs to be practical, but also easy on the eyes. Opting to contrast the white on white house, and fulfil my yearning for a dark room,we went for Resene Atomic on the walls, adding drama and complimenting the continued Resene Smoky Green floors. Pulling out the old tub we replaced it with a concrete tub from the wreckers on a built in plywood cabinet for hidden storage, and added a bench top for those extra bits and bobs. We decided to leave the plywood unpainted enhancing it’s natural tones and sealing it against any moisture with a satin polyurethane. Now back to practicality, the handy husband made brackets, shelves and a rail to hang everything from the laundry basket and ironing board to the carpet beater.

All in all, a bit of elbow grease and out of the box thinking left us with fresh new spaces at steal.

Nearly one year on, and it is incredible to stand back and see how much we have done, and how far we have come. With most of the major projects done, we have the hallway and spare room to go. Can you imagine, a finished house!?! Amazing.

So here it is, in all her white on white glory ( Sorry to all the unpainted wood fanatics, she was a mess under there ) . We adore living in this space, even with a dirty pawed dog. The floors are in Resene white in Enamacryll gloss, which wipes up in no time. And the walls in my favourite Resene Black White. White on white really gives the most amazing canvas to display all your treasures on.

Now for that lamp. After searching high and low and finding others too modern, too vintage, too small or big, I found her. Rubi, the standing lamp by leitmotiv from Let Liv. The perfect clean lines with a nod to mid century. Perfection. Tying in nicely with our absolute find of the year, the 5th Avenue couch in leather from Big Save.

Yep, we are pretty chuffed with how she turned out, and we must’ve done something right cause we made the cover!